Machine for manufacturing fuel



S. J. FRANKLIN. I -MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL- APPLICATION FILED IAN.6. I920 1,356,759. v I Patented Oct. 26,1920

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Sr]. FRANKLIN.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-6,1920

Patented Oct. 26, 1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2 anemia s. 1; FRANKLIN.

MACHINE FOR MANUFACTURING FUEL.

APPLICATION FILED JAN.6, 1920 1,356,759. Patented Oct. 26,1920.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

SIR JOHN FR NKLrN, or BEAVER CITY, nnnaAsKA.

'ivmorrmn ronivrANUFAcrUm ve FUEL. v

Specification of Letters Patent. Pat nt d Oct. 26, 1920.

. Application filed Januar 1920. Serial No. 349,782.

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, SIR JO N FRANKLIN, a citizen'of the United States, residing at Beaver City, .inthe county of Furnas and State of Nebraska, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Machines for Manufacturing Fuel, of which the following is a specification, reference being' had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to an improved machine for the manufacture of a'fuel, as a substitute for coal,to be made from straw, Russian thistle, corn stalks, weeds, hay and a many other like materials.

One of the ob'ects of the invention is to providea' machine of this kind, wherein means are provided for cuttingor choppin the material, compressing the 1materia there being a suitable binder applied, for causing the particles to adhere and remain in compact form and meansfor cutting the compact or compressed material in piecesfor consumption in stoves, ranges and fur- IHLCGS.

Another object of the invention isto provide a machine of this character includinga plunger and means for operating the same, anda manually controlled clutch for A still further ob ect of the invention is the provision of yieldably supporting means at one end of a casing in which the material is compressed or packed, there being an indicator carried by the yieldably supported means to cooperate with adial so as to indicate the pressure brought to bear on the material when compressed into said casing.

.While the design and construction. at present. illustrated'and set forth is deemed preferable, it is obvious that as a result of a reduction of the invention to a more practical form for commercial purposes, the invention may be susceptible to changes and the right to these changes is claimed, provided they are 'c'omprehended vwithin' the scope of what is claimed.

being'actuated until the clutch The invention comprises further features 5 A e r o IcE.

and combination of parts, as will be hereinafter set forth, shown in the drawings and claimed. In the drawings:

-Figure 1 is a. view in side elevation of: the lmproved machine for the ,manufa'ctur' ing of fuel.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of thesame with parts of the clutch in section.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig.1, showing the plunger in' the act of compressing the material into a casing.

Fig. 4c is a cross sectional View on line of" Fig. 3 showing the cutting mechanism. a

of the portion of the casing 10 showing another position of'the plunger l1 in order to show another position of the crude oil plunger.

ings,1' designates a frame, and in bearings of one end of the frame is a shaft 2; A driving pulley 3 is mounted upon the shaft 2, and is engaged by a belt l ,'ada'pted for connection with an engine or any other suitable power so'that it maybe transmittedto the pulley 3, which when in gear conthe adjacent ends of these-sections are provided with disks 5,-which are spaced. Pivoted at 6 eccentrically between the disks is-a Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail sectional view- Referring more especially to the draw- 'nection with "the shaft 2, will transmit power to the shaft. The shaft 3 isformed in two' axially alined parts or sections, andpitman 7 which in turn is pivoted at 8 to one end of a plunger 11. This plunger 11 is mounted in 'a'casing lO which is mounted on the bed plate 9 of the frame, and rising upwardly from the casing 10 and connected thereto in any suitable manner is a hopper 12. This hopper'l2 merges intoa second hopper '13,- which is preferably of the shape shown, though not necessarily, and mounted in the second hopper 13 is a pair of crushing rolls 14 and 15.- One end of the shaft of the roll 14 has a pulley 16, which is engaged by ai'belt 17; Whenthis belt 17 is operated motion will be imparted to the pulley 16 and thereby causetherolls 14c and 15 to rotate toward each other, thereby crushing the material such as corn stalks,

weeds, hay and the like, The shafts of the 'rolls 1 1 and 15 have intermeshing gears 18,

so that the rolls may rotate toward each other.

The casing 10 has a chamber 19, in which the plunger 11 operates. As the material from the hopper 13 drops into the hopper 12 and then into the chamber 19,- the plunger operates to compress this material into the chamber 19 and then into the final compressing chamber 20. The casing 12- has' a transverse slide 21, which supports the crushed material, particularly at the time when the plunger 11 is forced into the chamber 19. However, whenthe plunger 11 is withdrawn from the chamber 19, the "slide 21 may be opened, allowing the material to.

drop or fall into thechamber. VVhere-the final compressing chamber joins the casing 10,.a slot 22 is formed, for the reception of the circular saw blade 23. The circular saw blade is carried by an arbor 24, which is pivotally mounted upon a shaft 25, which is mounted in bearings of the frame of the machine. A pulley 26 ;is rotatable on the shaft and carries a beveled gear 27. The

' bevel gear 27 meshes with a beveled gear 261* of the shaft 26 which is mounted in suitable bearings 26 of the frame. .The outer endof the arbor 24 has bearings for the reception of the saw blade shaft. 28,

.. which is provided with a pulley 29% A belt blade.

30 travels about thepulleys 26'and 29 so that when power is transmitted to the pulley 26 through the' medium of the beveled gear 27, motion will be imparted to the saw The bearing of the frame of the machine-which carries the shaft 25 has an extension 31 to which a coil spring 32' is con- 7 nected. This spring. 32 is in .turn connected to the arbor 24, thereby tensioning the same and acting to hold the saw blade normally .out of engagement: with the transversely '40 disposed slot 22, which is located at a point between the casing20 and the chamber 19.

The extension 31 has an abutment lug 33 to limit the arbor in its normal position. A foot engaging member or lever 34 is carried by the arbor and is located so as to be engaged by the foot of the operator for tilting the arbor pivotally upon the ,shaft 25, to

move the saw blade through the slot of the frame, for the purpose of cutting the compressed material into parts for consumption in stoves, ranges and the like.

The casing having thechamber 20 comprises the top and bottom and side walls, 37,

opened to permit the removal of pressed material.

38 and 39 which are hingedly united as at 40. The top wall 39 and the side wall 37 have suitable detachable connections 41, whereby the various parts of the casing 20 maybe the com- The open end 42 of the casing 20 is closed by an abutment 43. Thisabutment rests upon the shoulder 44 of the end of the frame 1, and passing through the abutment are guide screws 45, which are threaded at 46 in the frame 1. Springs 47 surround the screws 45, and are interposed between the heads 48 of the screws and the abutment.

By adjustingthe screws 45 in one direction,

as the material in 'the casing 20 is compressed, the indl'cator'will move over the dial, and indicate thepressure which is brought to bear. upon the material as it is compressed. The greaterthe amount of ma.

terial which is forced intothe casing 20, the greater the pressure, and by means of the indicator and the dial, the variations of the pressure will be clearly disclosed on the dial. 7 V g A suitable receptacle 52 is mounted on the side of 'the hopp'er 13, and contains a suitable binder, there being'a passage or tube of communlcatlon 53 w th the interior of the casing 20, so as' to feedthe liquid binder into the casing 20, so as to 'miX with and bind the parts of the material as they are compressed. v As the material is bound,

and as it partly dries. and hardens, it'is cut in cubical forms by means'aof the. circular saw 23. It is to be noted that as these cubical forms reach the open end 42 of the casing 20, and the abutment moves away from. the casing, owing to the pressure at the rear of the material, the cubical forms may be removed, one at a time, should it be so desired. However, the casing 20'may be opened, as previously stated, to permit the material in cubical forms to be'more' quickly removed.

The pulley 3 is loosely mounted upon the.

shaft 2, and the web or the spokes of said pulley 3 have apertures 4, which receive the clutch pins 54 of the'clutch 54*. This clutch 54 is also loose upon the shaft 2, and is capable of sliding movement axially on the shaft, but at the same time-is always. rotatable with the pulley 3, as the clutch pins '54 'are at all times in engage- .ment with the openings or apertures 54.

The clutch member 54 has clutch teeth 54 which are designed to cotiperate with the teeth 55 of the pulley 56,.whichis also loose upon the shaft 2. i This pulley 56 is prevented from axial movement relatively to the shaft 2. A lever 58 is pivoted at 59 to a part of the frame of the machine and is provided with forks 60, which pivotally engage the lateral lugs 61 of the two-part collar 62, which is carried in the groove 63 of the clutch 54". The lever -58i-s angular, asshown, though not necessarily, and pivoted to one of its arms 65 is a rod 66.

which in turn is pivoted at 67 to a lever 68. This lever 68 is pivotally mounted at 69 on the frame of the machine and is designed to be oscillated for moving the clutch member out of engagement with the clutch teeth 55, so as to permit the pulley 56 to remain idle on the shaft 2. A rod 70 ispivotally connected to the lower end of the lever 68, and is mounted in guides 71. The end of the rod 70 is designed to assume a position in the path of the. foot engaging member or lever-'34 of the arbor to prevent the arbor from being oscillated as long as the clutch pins 54* are in engagement with the'openings 72 of the pulley 73,

which is keyed at 74: to the shaft 2. The

clutch 54 is shown in a neutral position in Fig. 2. In fact its clutch pins are out of engagement with &the openings 72 of the pulley 73, and its teeth 5e are out of engagement with the teeth 55 of the pulley 56, and in this case the rod hasits end out of the path of the foot engaging lever 34, and also the working parts of themachine are 'at rest. 'However, when the.

clutch 548 is moved so that its teeth 54 will engage the teeth 55 of the pulley 56,.

motion will be imparted to the belt 75 (which passes about the pulley 76 on the shaft-26 thereby transmitting power to the saw blade. It is obvious that when the clutch is so co6perating with the pulley 56, the rod 70 still has. its end out of the path of the foot operated lever 34,.therefore, the lever 3 is free to be actuated, and when actuated, the arbor will be oscillated so as to move the saw blade transversely through the. chamber 19. The lever 68 is moved to engage the clutch 54 from the teeth .of

the pulley 56, at the time that the plunger.

11 is withdrawn from the chamber 19, which has reached substantially its full rearward position, so that the arbor is free to be oscillated with the saw blade 23 contacting with the plunger which would'ob; struct the passage of the saw blade.

The belt 75 also passes about a pulley 77 which is mounted upon a stub shaft 78 of the frame of the machine. The belt l7 passes about the pulley 73, and when the clutch pins 54. are protruded far enough through the openings 54 of the pulley 3 they will engage the openings or apertures 72 of the pulley 73, so as to impart movement to the belt 17 and thence to the pulley 16, which is carried upon the shaft l l of the crushing roll 1 1. When movement is so imparted to the belt 17, the crushing rolls vill be operated, thereby crushing the ma terial so as to enter. the hopper 12 in proper form to be dropped in the chamber 19. Also when the clutch pins 54 are in engagement with the openings 72 of the pulley 73, the end of the rod 70 will be dis- 34, which will prevent the arbor 24: from. a

being oscillated. The pulley 3 andclutch 54? are at all times revolving, and when shifted in one direction or the other, one or the other ofthe pulleys 56 and 7 3 is op-' erated.

A crude oiltank 80 has a pipe of communication 81 with the casing 10, there being a valve82 for controlling the flow of i any suitable crude or :other combustible oils.

into said casing. The plunger ll'is hollow and has its nose 83'conically shaped, andformed concentrically with the plung er is a tubular stem 84:. The interior of the stem 8& at one end receives a crude oil plunger or piston 85, and itsother end mergesinto branch ducts 86. The tubular stem has a laterally extending tubular eX tension 87 integrally connected with the.

wall of the plunger 11. In fact the passage through the lateral extension'87 communie cates with the interior of the casing 10.

The pitman 7 has a lateral arm 88 to which a second pitman 89 is pivotally connected as at 90. The pitman 89 is in turn pivoted" at 91 to the crude oil plunger or piston 85.

As will be observed, in Fig. 3, the plunger 11 is capable of sufficient movement rearwardly so as to cause the duct or opening in the extension 87 to register with the outlet end of the pipe 81 leading from the crude oil tank 80. It will also be noted that the plunger or piston 85 is also at the limit of its rearward movement, which will' per extension 87 between its ends, is permitted to slowly enter the main passage orduct of the stem 84. When the pin 6 is on its upward movement, from its extreme lower position, a slight forward movement is imparted to the'plunger 85, causing the crude oil to be forced through the passage of the stem 84 into the center of the material which is being compressed in the chamber 19. When the pin 6 isin the act of moving upward from a position in a plane hori- Y zontally forward of the shaft 2 to its extreme upper position, an additional forward movement is'imparted to the plunger 85, acting to additionally force the crude oil into the material being compressed. However, when this latter movement is imparted to the plunger 85 the. plunger 11 is moving rearwardly, to permitmore mate rial to enter the chamber 19. It is obvious that when this is the case, the material which has been previously compressedis allowedto expand slightly, hence will permit the supply of crude oil to more easily enter the material, particularly as a result of the additional movement of the plunger 85. I v

The material such as thistles, corn stalks, weeds, hay, straw and the like is placed in the hopper 13, where it is crushed .by the rolls,-and is then deposited into the hopper 12, and is supported by the slide 21. However, when the plunger 11 is moved to a rearward positionfrom under the hopper 12, the material will deposit and fall into the chamberzlS, as .a result of'withdrawing the slide 21, and when it enters the chamber 19 it is compressed and compacted by the plunger 11 and then forced into the casing 20.

As these operations are continued, the binder or adhesive material from the passage-53 mixes with the material and binds the parts together. After the material is bound or partly compact and dried, it is cut into cubical forms and then removed from the casing 20, and when these cubical forms are thoroughly dried they are then to be used as fuel.

hile the fuel manufacturing machine has been shown and described as operating horizontally, the frame being correspondingly arranged,rit is obvious that it mayv be constructed in an upright position as well.

Th'erinvent'ion having been set forth, what is claimed as new and useful is 1. In a machine for the manufacture of fuel, the combination with a casing having a compress chamber 'in which the material. is forced, of a plunger operable therein, and a cutter for cutting the material into lengths, said cutting mechanism including a swinging arbor having a circular cutting saw, a member to'be driven and being operatively connected with the plunger for reciprocating the same, means for driving the member to be driven, a pulley loosely mounted upon the member to be driven, a

clutch member rotatable with the means for driving the member and being axially on the member and with relation to said ,7 means, said loosely mounted pulley having operative connections with the cutting saw and provided with clutching means to be engaged by the firstclutch for imparting movement to the cutting saw, and a safety device actuated by the first clutch to move.

said device inthe path of an element of'the arbor to prevent the arbor from being oscillated and prevent the blade from being moved inthe path of the plunger.

2; 'In a machine for the manufacture of fuel, the combination with a casing provided with a compress chamber to receive the material to be compressedfof-a plunger operable in the chamber, a swinging cutter,"

anelcment to be driven and having connecr tions with the plunger and provided with a pair of loose pulleys, .means for driving both pulleys, connections between one of the pulleys and the cutter for imparting revoluble movements to the cutter, a clutch member on the element and adapted to clutch with either one of'thepulleys, means for shifting the clutch member to engage first one pulley'and then the other, so that the plunger may be first operated and then the cutter,and a safety device actuated by the clutch operating means to move in the path of amember of said'cutter to prevent the samev from'operating across'the path of the plunger. 7

3. In a machine for the .manufacture of fuel, the combination with a casing having a compress chamber, of a plunger operabletherein to compress the material into said chamber,'means for cutting the material :as it is compressed, means for permitting an introduction of a binder into the chamber formixing with and bindingthe material, an abutment at the open outlet end for the material, and means actuated by the abutment to indicate the pressure brought to bear on the material in the compress chamber and the second'casing.

4:. In a machine forthe manufacture of fuel, the combination with. a, compress V chamber. for the reception of material to be compressed, of a plunger operable in said chamber for compressing the material, a cutter for the material, said chamber having a discharge end and a spring tensioned abutment for the discharge end, and an in dicator actuated by the abutment to indicate the pressure brought to bear on the material.

.the latter from obstructing the path of the former.

"6. In a machine for'the manufacture of fuel, the combination with a compress chamber for the reception of material to be compressed, of a plunger operable in said chamher for compressing the material, a cutter for the material, said chamberhaving a dis charge end and a spring tensioned abutment for the discharge end, an indicator actuated by the abutment to indicate the pressure brought to bear on the material, means operatively connected with the plunger and the cutting means and including a clutch device whereby the plungeris first operated and then the cutter, to prevent the latter from obstructing the path of the former, a lever 'for actuating the clutch member, and a safety device actuated by the lever to be moved in the path of a memoperable in said chamber for compressing the material, means for ermitting of the introduction of a binder into the compress chamber to mix with and bind the material, and means for cutting the compressed material into lengths to be used as fuel, means for forcing a supply of crude oil into the material as it is bein compressed in the chamber, ressure indlcator to indicate the pressure means actuated by the material to operate the indicator.

8. In a machine for the manufacture of fuel, the combination with a casing having a compress chamber, of a plunger operable therein, means for permitting the introduc tion of a binder in said chamber, and a cut-- ter for cutting the material into lengths, means for forcing a supply of crude oil into the material as it is being compressed in the chamber, an indicator to indicate the pressure brought to bear on the material, and means actuated by the material for operating said indicator.

9. In a machine for the manufacture of fuel, the combination with a casing having a compress chamber into which the material is compressed, of means for crushing the material prior to 7 being compressed, a plunger operable in the compress chamber,

means for permitting an introduction of a binder into the chamber, a cutting mechanism including a cutter for cuttlng the material into lengths, a driven member ope eratively connected with the plunger for reciprocating the same, means loose upon the I driven member and adapted to drive the same, a pulley keyed. to the driven member and havlng operative connections'wlth the crushing means, a second pulley loose upon the driven member being operatively connected to the cutting mechan sm and provided with a clutch, and a second clutch loose upon the driven member and movable axially with relation thereto and to the operating means which is loose upon .the driven member, and-adapted to engage the clutch of the loose pulley for driving the cutting mechanism, and devices slidably c0nrought to bear on said material, and

necti'ng thesecond clutclrwitl1"tl1e means which 1s loose upon themember sofas to move at all times with the loosely mounted means,'sa'id devices adapted to detachably engage the keyed pulley when the second clutch is shifted, for operating the crushing mechanism and the plunger when the clutch is shifted out of engagement with the clutch of the loose pulley. 1i a 10. In a machine for the manufacture' of fuel, the combination" with a casing having a compress chamber into which the mate.-

rial is compressed, of means'for crushing the'material prior'to being compressed, a

plunger operable in the compress chamber,

a cutting mechanism comprising an arbor and lncluding a cutter for cutting the materlal into lengths, a drlven: member operatively connected with the plunger for reaxially with relation thereto and to the operating meanswhich is loose'upon the driven member, and adapted to engage the clutch of the loose pulley for driving the cutting mechanism, and devices slidably connecting the second clutch with the means which is loose upon the member so as to move at all times with the loosely mounted means, said devices adapted to detachably engage the keyed pulley whenthe second clutch is shifted, for operating the crushing mechanism and the plunger when the clutch is shifted out of engagement withthe clutch of the loose pulley, and a safety device operatively connected with and 0perated by the second clutch to move the safety device in the path of a member of the arbor to preventthe actuation of the cutter of the cutting mechanism when the plunger and the crushing mechanism are op erating.

11. In fuel, a casing having a compress chamber, a plunger operable therein to compress the material into said chamber, operating means,

for the plunger, a cutting mechanism for cutting the compressed material into lengths, and means for rendering the operating means for the plungerinoperative while the cutting mechanism is being actuated.

12. In a machine for the manufacture of fuel, a casing having a compress chamber,

a plunger operable therein to compress the material into said chamber, operating means for the plunger, a cutting mechanism for cutting the compressed material into lengths, and means for rendering the operating a machine for the manufactureof .to register the means of the plunger inoperatiye While the Jpre'ssed to indicate the pressurebrought to bear on the material.

13. In a machine for the manufacture of fuel, a casing having a compress chamber a plunger operable therein, and an indicator pressure brought to bear on the material. r

- 14. In a machine for the manufacture of fuel, a casing having acompress chamber, a plunger operable therein, an indicator to register the. pressurc'brought to bear onthe material, and means actuated by the matea plungeroperable t ,erein, an indicator to register the pressure brought to bear on the material, and an abutment at one end of the compress chamber actuated by the material for operating the indicator whereby the indicator may register the pressure brought to bear on. the material.

In testimony whereof I hereunto affix my signature. 7 V

' SIRJOHN FRANKLIN. 

